Leeds United are back in action in the Premier League for the final time before the international break when they face Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road this afternoon.
The Whites welcome Thomas Frank’s team to West Yorkshire in the early kick-off in the top-flight, as they look to head into the break off the back of another positive result.
Daniel Farke’s side have made a respectable start to life in the Premier League after they won the Championship title with a club-record 100-point haul in the 2024/25 campaign.
Leeds have eight points on the board after six matches and were seconds away from having another two points to their name in their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, as they conceded in stoppage time.
The Championship champions have scored five goals in their last two matches in the Premier League, having beaten Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 in the game before that draw with the Cherries.
Despite that impressive goal return in the last two outings in the top-flight, finishing chances has been an issue for Farke’s side throughout the season so far.
Why Leeds need more from their attackers
Leeds need to get more out of their attackers at the top end of the pitch because some of them have missed too many big chances, and others have not gotten into dangerous enough positions in front of goal.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who arrived on a free transfer from Everton in the summer, scored his first goal for the club with an excellent header against Wolves last month.
However, the former England international has lacked a ruthless edge in front of goal with his performances for the club so far, which is a slight cause for concern moving forward.
Tottenham have only conceded four goals in six games in the Premier League under Frank, which suggests that chances will be few and far between and that Leeds will need to be clinical with what they are able to create.
Appearances
1
4
Goals
0
1
Minutes per goal
N/A
267
Big chances missed
4
4
Conversion rate
0%
14%
Big chances created
0
0
Assists
0
0
As you can see in the table above, Calvert-Lewin has missed eight ‘big chances’ and scored one goal in five appearances for the Whites so far, which shows that he has been incredibly wasteful in front of goal.
His hold-up play, winning 5.3 duels per game (Sofascore), will be important against the Europa League champions to alleviate pressure, though, which is why he should keep his place in the team.
It is, therefore, Brenden Aaronson who should be taken out of the starting line-up for this clash with Spurs because he lacks the clinical edge that the Whites will need given how strong their opponents are at the defensive side of the game.
The USA international has failed to score in six league games so far this season and scored one goal from 3.86 xG in 36 appearances in the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign, per Sofascore.
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This means that Aaronson cannot be relied upon to finish a chance if it comes his way against the Lilywhites, which is why he should be ruthlessly dropped from the starting line-up to provide another player with an opportunity to shine.
In his place, Farke could add the clinical edge that his team will need against Spurs by unleashing Joel Piroe in a brand-new role on the right flank this afternoon at Elland Road.
Why Joel Piroe should be unleashed against Spurs
The Dutchman has fallen down the pecking order in the number nine position in West Yorkshire this season, as evidenced by the fact that he has been an unused substitute in his last three appearances in the matchday squad.
It has been a disappointing start to life in the Premier League for last season’s Championship top scorer, who caught the eye of fans and pundits with his clinical finishing.
In fact, former Spurs star Chris Waddle compared him to Harry Kane, saying: “He reminds me of how Harry Kane plays. He comes off and drags the centre halves out, which is great for Dan James and their other wingers. If you have got wingers with a bit of pace, they can exploit the space that has been created for him and I think that works very well.”
Piroe scored 19 goals in the Championship to fire Leeds to promotion and win the Golden Boot, which earned him that comparison to the Tottenham icon, who now plays for Bayern Munich.
However, instead of unleashing him as their own version of Kane, who scored 280 goals for Spurs as a number nine, Farke should look to unleash the left-footed star in a brand-new role on the right.
All 78 of his starts for Leeds have come in central positions, as a striker or as an attacking midfielder, but he has scored 13 goals in 28 matches as a right-winger for the other clubs in his career combined, per Transfermarkt.
This suggests that he does have the potential to be effective in that position, even if his lack of mobility and natural physicality mean that he does not look like a natural pick in that area of the pitch.
Appearances
45
46
xG
12.74
17.17
Goals
13
19
Big chances missed
8
13
Big chances created
3
8
Assists
3
7
As you can see in the table above, Piroe was undoubtedly an immense finisher for the Whites in his two seasons in the Championship with the club, outperforming his xG in both campaigns.
That is why it was not a surprise to read that Beren Cross quoted Farke as saying that the Dutch striker is “the best finisher he has ever worked with” in his pre-match press conference for the Spurs match.
Given that the German head coach has worked with players like Teemu Pukki, Mario Gotze, and Marcus Thuram, that is incredibly high praise from the manager.
Aaronson, as aforementioned, has not offered enough of a threat as a goalscorer throughout his Premier League career and Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto are both injured, which is why unleashing Piroe on the right flank could be an inventive solution to the team’s lack of ruthless finishing.
The Whites would then have Calvert-Lewin as the number nine to provide physicality and hold-up play, Noah Okafor on the left to provide pace and dynamism down the left, and Piroe on the right to offer a clinical edge in front of goal.
